withered reds and yellowed blues
by telesoap
Summary: Flowers, a staple of something unexpected, is quite a confusion in his mind. What else can flowers do besides grow and look pretty? Much, much more. [The Colour Contests ENTRY]
1. the wall by his side

| Please take note that nothing in this story belongs to me besides the plot ( not the prompt ) and possibly OOC characters ( namely Roy ), so keep on guard and have a good time. Reviews are pretty welcome, too!

Roy felt along the dry, cracked edge of the wall outside of the school. It was a border, something to remind the kids here that once they were in, they couldn't get out. It hadn't bothered Roy all too much over the years, his hands having smooth and rough patches from feeling the wall far too much. He was fond of it, the wall, a memory that lied just outside his reach, and he was fond of how he could never quite remember those warm summers with his parents. Sneaking into the school grounds, pretending to be ninjas.

He never found himself disliking anything in life, that warm fondness for everything always resting somewhere in his heart, but he had only felt true passion few times in life. One of those passions was flowers. a great many of them taking his attention ever since he was small. Sometimes, when the cold seeped too deep for flowers to grow, he would ponder about flowers of ice. They were the prettiest flowers of all, resting somewhere he could not see.

He didn't believe in them anymore, though. What was the need?

Roy continued down the boarder of the wall, his fingers gliding on the worn brick like they'd done many times before. He wasn't unfamiliar with the feeling of the wall, the brick seeming to meld perfectly with his fingers, but the other people around him, walking from the school to head home, was another story.

Roy was good at social interactions, to an extent that he would call proficient, but that wasn't quite up to standards for others. That's the reason that many of his friends, besides the small friendship that him and Samus had, we're so open to him.

Sometimes, Roy found himself longing for a hug or a kiss from a friend that wasn't related to him. A simple ember that would light the flames, but he knew well that it wouldn't happen. It never did. So, with a sigh to add effect, Roy continued down the way, a good memory of his path home in his mind as he looked at the pumpkin blossoms rolling beside the wall, a great many of them that eluded to something more that Roy couldn't hope to imagine.

Well, Roy had quite the mind, so there was hope, an odd, plausible sense of excitement.

[ t]

i.

Roy sighed out a cold breath of air as he felt along the wall again, today being a Friday, a good day of the week. This wall, a protective thing that gave students a faux sense of security, was probably both Roy's most respected and most pondered sense of school property.

This wall, now crooked with age and weathered from wind, has stood here since 1934. That's one of the greatest achievements that this school had besides having quite the high average. The only A in the state, if he remembered correctly. They'd kept this feat going for years, and everyone was proud of that fact. How lucky he was.

Huffing, Roy watched the last set of students filter out before he looked at the top of the wall, a thing that was only a few feet taller than Roy, probably 4 or 5 in the least. He had always, no matter how old he became, wondered what was behind this old and worn wall. Could it be a zoo of animals that he hadn't heard of for many years, or could it be the swimming pool Roy hadn't seen since he was 10. No matter the case, Roy always found his mind wandering whenever he touched it, and many times he would notice his mind wandered after an hour of standing there like a dolt without a brain.

Most of all, he thought a big ship with its canvass up stood there, waiting.

Roy, now moving towards the pumpkin blossoms by the wall, started his pondering once again. There wasn't any soil here, the ground being mostly concrete, even under the wall, so why was there blossoms growing? With a frown, Roy slowly moved the blossoms out of the way, a large crack, not large enough for him to fit fully through, greeted him from the protection of the plants.

Frowning, Roy peeked through, a sight of greenery and moss greeting him as soon as his senses recovered from the pains of awe and amazement. Peeking further inside, Roy was greeted with the sweet scent of dew and a warm atmosphere of Spring. Huffing, Roy fit his head through and gazed at the completely different world behind the wall. What he saw was quite the beauty, but the strong scent was starting to become suffocating. Gasping, Roy pulled his head from the crack and covered it up with the vines of the soon to be pumpkins.

The world he saw was filled with a plethora of different plants, a great deal of them making Roy's heart pound from either the sight of it or the fact that he found something that someone like him knew about. No matter, Roy could worry about the smaller details at another time, but he should check up on Ike and Marth right now. Marth had gotten sick and Ike and Lucina were taking turns to take care of him.

Based on Roy's somewhat limited idea of his surroundings, he headed off towards where he knew that home was, first.

Glancing around the street, everyone had gone home in hatred towards the cold weather that they all were facing at the moment. It was nice, as fas as Roy's opinion was concerned, but the redhead was one of the few who shared a similar thought. Humming a small tune to himself that Ike taught him, Roy dug in his backpack before he found the bag of chips he had scavenged at their lunch period. And whilst he walked the somewhat barren sidewalk, he looked towards the sky in a sacred awe. An awe that could only be made by him, and him alone.

Opening the door to his home, Roy's eyes scanned inside the place that Samus shared with him. She was the only resident besides Roy himself, and he could have sworn that she would make him pay to live there as if he was a tenant at some point.

"I'm home!" Roy called out into the house, one of the first words he said since he had exited the school. He really was quite the lonely one.

"Welcome back, kid," Samus called from the dinner table in their kitchen, the clatter of dishes and the sound of running water alerting Roy of what Samus was doing at the moment.

Roy smiled and went to the kitchen, taking his shoes off along the way with a small smile, "Am I cooking or are you going for it, Samus?" Roy asked, putting a glass under the sink, planning on going to water the flowers on the window.

Samus let out a short laugh before she shook her head. "Peach is coming over later. I think she really digs me," said Samus, a taunting grin on her face before Roy just shook his head, clicking his tongue as he walked from the kitchen to his room upstairs.

"You say that when you two go on an actual date!" Roy said from upstairs, Samus's bellowing laugh rolling through the house before he closed the door, the sound instantly being cut from his ears. Humming in agitation, Roy threw away his empty bag of chips and tossed his backpack onto the bed, immediately heading toward his plants with a look on his face that said that this was serious.

He loved his plants quite the amount, and most of the time he had no reason to play around with such hard to manage plants like a cactus and gardenias and a possible sunflower in the corner. Yes, Roy was quite attached to those plants, even if he took them much too seriously.

Glancing at his watering chart, he found that today was the day to water his cactus, a grin on his face as he poured a small amount of water into the pot, finding that the sunflower was the only thing that was next. After he finished watering that, Roy took a seat on his bed and leaned back to look at the ceiling, sticky notes and observations of the stars resting above him before he remembered that he forgot to visit Ike and Marth like he said. No matter, Ike normally came over to listen to Roy talk about plants and Pluto. Oh, how he loved that planet.

Hissing, Roy leaned forward with a slight hint of flourish and rubbed his eye, a frown on his face as he looked at his backpack, from what he could see from the peak of the zipper, it was filled to the brim with new roses that he brought for Marth when he was walking to school that morning. Sighing, Roy opened up his backpack more and dragged out a folder, information filling it to the brim. Maybe he could convince Ike to stay over so they could complain about (dwarf) planets in the Kuiper Belt together.

Sitting up straight, Roy locked eyes with Ike just staring at him plainly from the window, his normal resting bitch face seeming to be on full force. Roy, who had enough smarts to guess what happened, removed the plants with haste from the window and allowed Ike into his room with a small smile.

"Tell." He immediately said, closing the window and putting the plants back where they were. Looking over at Ike, he felt his lips curve upwards in understanding.

"Marth decided to throw up all over the place again, had to clean it up, but you seem excited." Ike mumbled, glancing over at Roy with a questioning look, his eyes like a haze inside an aqua blue, a great contrast to Roy's soft turquoise that often imitated sea water in comic books. White foam and all.

"I found out what was behind the wall, and it was pretty." Roy said, trying his best to hold back in fear of Ike becoming quite bored with his speech, which was quite rare. Roy sometimes understood why he would fall asleep, but others were somewhat of a mystery.

"Well, how pretty was it?" Ike asked, moving over to Roy's desk and dragging out a chair to sit on and rest his weary limbs for a moment before he had to crawl back out the window. He wasn't quite a big fan of the narrow hallway to Roy's room, rather choosing to taking the open air than feel shut in.

"It was really warm, felt like a greenhouse. It had plants for almost all four seasons inside it and it looked as if it was another world. I found it where the pumpkin blossoms are." Roy said, twiddling his thumbs with a smile that had become one of someone fawning over their crush. "There were gardenias and moss, a few random rose bushes laying on one side whilst being in all different colors, and a tea set. Oh, how beautiful it looked." Roy said, Ike gazing at him incredulously for a moment before he frowned.

"Your sure you didn't fall down the rabbit hole?" Ike asked, twirling a finger to the side of his head with an eyebrow raised. He did believe him, the entire place being renovated by Ike, Marth, and a few other kids when they were quite young, but he wanted to see what Roy knew.

"Ike, it was outside the school, by the wall." Roy mumbled, frowning as he remembered and felt how the scenery was. It felt as if a warm hand had pressed against his face, the scent of honeydew still stuck to his skin. It smelt sweet, like Peach's perfume.

"Then show me. I want to see it." Ike said, leaning forwards in his chair with his eyebrows raised in a small amount of curiosity. He often just listened without asking questions, but Roy could tell his interest was piqued to an extent far enough that he wanted to see. Ike becoming this interested hadn't happened since they were in Kindergarten and Ike wanted to see Roy's house.

Roy, who was somewhat caught off guard, made a face before he scrambled up from his bed and rushed over to Ike, surprised. "You do?!" He yelled, Samus making a noise of complaint from downstairs before Roy could say anything else. Roy frowned before he looked at Ike, his eyes glowing.

"Yeah, we can go right now, Samus won't mind it." Ike said, standing up and starting to walk towards the door, and with a motion to follow, he left the room.

Roy, with enough sense to follow, rushed after Ike, running down the stairs with great speed as Ike was leaving from the front door. Roy, now somewhat confused about how they evaded Samus and her well trained eyes, trailed behind Ike with a frown.

"After this, can we stop by Marth's?" Roy asked, taking note that he forgot to visit the sickened male. Marth wasn't quite acquainted to the cool weather just yet, Roy learned.

"Yeah, I'm your guest, not vice versa. I'll go wherever you go." Ike said, glancing down at Roy with a small frown.

Roy, who nodded in reply, continued to walk towards the school. He knew the path there by the back of his hand, his mind engraved with the memory of years of walking this path, but he also remembered standing on the curb with his parents, a place that he still liked to stand. It made his heart flutter.

"We should also probably stop by the library for books, too. There are probably some involving the history of that old wall." Roy said aloud, Ike sending him a nod before they saw the school building up ahead in all its glory. "You ready?" Roy asked Ike, glancing over his shoulder to affirm his answer.

"Yeah, lets see what you're talking about." Ike said, moving faster so he could walk beside Roy.

Roy huffed and stooped in front of the wall and searched around where he had been earlier before he found a patch of disgruntled pumpkin blossoms. Moving them to the side, Roy found the soft, warm air hitting his face once again. Smiling, Roy motioned Ike to come over for a moment, his heart racing at great speeds as Ike waltzed over and glanced inside.

Pulling his head out from the crack, he looked over at Roy with wide eyes,"Does the school know about this?" Ike asked, rubbing the outside of the wall with more care than Roy had seen before. Roy shook his head and stood up, Ike following close behind,"So, we're keeping this a secret, right?" Ike asked, his face twisted as he observed the best he could.

"No one besides our small group of friends should know, no matter how cruel that sounds." Roy said, his eyes directing themselves to his feet in an odd sort of submission to how rude he sounded.

Ike let out a sigh before he nodded, a small burst of wind ruffling their clothes without any sort of caution to where they were. Ike shivered before he stuck closer to Roy, his cheeks and nose a slight orange color. Roy never quite understood Ike, but he tried. His attempts weren't always fruitful.

He kept trying, anyways.

* * *

Ah, this is a really, really old chapter. I did it when the contest was first announced, haha. The others are better, though, don't worry about it! I'll probably get to editing this whenever I have finished up this story, but fair note that this is for the Colour Contest.


	2. the gardenias in his hair

Roy sighed as he sat in the bath tub, the time reading 7:22 PM. He had been in there for only a few minutes, a great thing to his mind at how time flies, but the water stayed the same. He had planned to place a bath bomb in it, a galaxy one that Samus bought him still in its box, but Roy knew better not to use it. He would rather place it into the bath whenever he was having a bad day than one as refreshing as today.

With a huff, Roy tried his best to slouch further into the water, but something shiny caught his eyes. Frowning, the redhead picked up a single pumpkin blossom, a metallic sheen to it that seemed to make it sparkle. With a gaping mouth, Roy stood up and walked towards the towels, grabbing one and wrapping it around his waist before he rushed to his room.

Dressing, his clothes feeling wet and sticky on his skin, Roy hurriedly put on a coat and rushed towards his door, his face stone as he flung it open and tried his best to make it down the hallway at full speed and not tumble over his limbs.

In a great, daring leap, Roy jumped from the top of the stairs to the floor below. Samus, turning her head towards Roy, rose her eyebrows at him. Roy froze for a moment, her eyebrows lowering to annoyance. Rolling her eyes, she waved Roy off and continued guzzling her beer on the couch, Peach resting calmly beside her with a small smile.

Nodding as a sign of his thanks he opened the door and rushed out into the frigid air. Taking a gulp of the frozen oxygen, Roy continued running onwards towards the school. He smelt lilacs, and he could smell the flower as if it was violently shoved into his nostrils. It was a few houses away, a patch of them oddly blooming. Roy never understood how scents transfer.

Hitting a turn with amazing precision, Roy rushed towards the growing school building. Taking a deep breath, Roy slid to a stop in front of the wall and stared, the pumpkin blossoms all glowing in the moonlight. They were all silver, a color that Roy never thought could exist in a flower. Lifting another pumpkin blossom from the bush, Roy found his hand trembling as he gazed expectantly at it.

Could it be…?

[ t]

ii.

Roy walked back home in the dark of the night, his breath clouding above him in puffs and straight streams. He had wanted to leap over the wall, his mind befuddled over the shining pumpkin blossom he had found a few moments before, but he decided the attempt was unreasonable, leaving him to walk home with his heart pounding and his mind clearing. He was a human, of course he was unreasonable. It was in his nature.

He was feeling along the wall, the end of the wall coming quite near in the small moments that Roy could sense. He felt the sidewalk rise before the wall was away from his fingertips, touching the night air. It felt nice for October, and it would feel better in November and December. Huffing, Roy chose to get lost in his thoughts once more.

He should probably visit Marth. Ike was probably still awake, too. He could talk to them about the wall and its secrets, Ike probably knowing more than he. Roy had only a morsel of knowledge in his mind about it, a sense of paranoia seeming to enchant his thoughts about the wall. It was as thick as the humidity of past rainfalls, a choking mix of fog and possibly cotton. Roy soon found himself clear of thought, his eyes fluttering as he listened.

Humming to himself, the crickets silent for the rest of the year, Roy glanced up at the cloudy sky of the night, the scent of rain heavy in the air. He had misjudged, and the rain fell from the sky in a heavy burst of thunder and lightning. Frowning, Roy rushed down the street and turned the bend, the cold winds sending shivers up his spine. It was a deep, tingling sensation that didn't offer the comfort that showers in the Spring brought. It made him jump for a moment before he rushed ahead and stopped at a familiar cream colored door, his hair sticking to his forehead.

Roy, a befuddled mess of wet clothing and shivering skin, knocked on the front door. His hand wasn't steady, and instead made an odd turn for the doorknob instead. Knocking his knuckles against the metal, Roy hissed in annoyance and pain. He had no time for this.

"Ike, Marth!" Roy called out, his voice no more than a squeak in the darkness of the street.

He should've continued home instead, the thought seeming much more entertaining the more he stood there and waited. The rain had calmed down, but the lighting and thunder had only gotten stronger. With a sharp movement of his wrist, Roy rapped on the door once more and waited, his body seeming to sway on the flooded ground. Now that he thought about it, the river to the north of them would probably flood as soon as the morning broke, a warning going through Roy's head before the door opened and Ike stared down at him.

"Hurry up and come in, you'll freeze out here!" Ike said, dragging Roy into the light and warmth of the home with a deep frown, Roy returning it with a smile.

"What a good way to greet me after a long trek here, Ike." Roy hissed, his arm throbbing under Ike's strong grasp.

Ike, who was rather focused on getting Roy to the laundry room to wash and dry his clothes, barely heard the sarcastic statement, and passed it off with a grunt.

Looking around, Roy took note of the cream painted ceiling and somewhat of sherbet painted walls. Their home was incredibly beautiful compared to Roy's house. For some reason he felt like he loved it much less than the latter. He could never quite choose who lived in it first, though.

Ike, who was leading Roy into the small laundry room, nodded to him with a frown. Roy understood the message and immediately removed his clothes with the utmost care. They were freezing on his skin, each time a layer was removed and placed into the washer he could feel his muscles tense, but he couldn't remove his mind from omething that had been hounding him for quite the time.

"Ike, you said you used to renovate the area behind the wall when you were a kid, right?" Roy asked, giving Ike his boxers and quickly slipping into another pair that Ike had given him instead.

"Yeah, what about it?" Ike said, unscrewing the cap to the laundry detergent and pouring some in before he started up the machine with a few turns of a dial. "Do you want to know about the others?" Ike asked as a reflexive question, his mind urging him to say something at the small gap of silence.

"No, not now, but did you ever see a blossom of silver before?" Roy asked, frowning over at Ike as he was given a tee shirt and a pair of sweat pants. They were probably Marth's.

Ike nodded before he dug two out of his pocket,"You almost washed it," Ike said, handing one of them to a surprised Roy, "make sure to keep it out of sunlight, too. It doesn't do well there." Ike said, him and Roy exiting from the laundry room and taking a turn for upstairs.

"Marth, do I have permission to come in?" Ike said in front of Marth's door, his knuckles inches away from it in case he found need to knock. Roy wasn't as pleased as he thought he'd be at seeing Marth. A small part of him didn't want to see him sick, but he had to come. Marth didn't deserve a sickness with no visitors.

"Come in," a voice said from the other side of the door, the door knob turning before it opened and Marth was in full view. "Ah, you came to visit. Not wise to it in this weather, though."

Gardenias, of varying colors, were intertwined with his hair, the small crown of flowers resting on the front of his head like it was a headband or tiara. Roy felt his heart take quite the leap at his throat before he took mind of the situation and greeted Marth, a small twinge of anxiety in his smile.

Marth had stood in front of his door for a moment, chatting to Ike and Roy how his day went. He also, rather scorched about the topic, told of how he ended up throwing up, literally and figuratively, everywhere. Roy found himself laughing at the story while Ike just stared plainly between Marth and Roy, his face still in its neutral expression.

"I've taken note that we've been ignoring something large, though. You don't randomly come in when it's raining for no reason, you know." Marth said, ushering Ike and Roy inside with a smile.

For a sick person, Marth's room was always quite nice, a grand scene of a room, too. His window was quite large, and the bookshelf to the corner was perfectly illuminated in the light from it. But that was the morning, for the night brought more wonders. Most that Roy could barely grasp enough to explain.

After a short pause of words from both sides, Ike had walked from the room to get Roy and Marth something to eat. Roy was left without a clue to how he could, or should, explain this to someone like Marth who probably hasn't gone to the area behind the pumpkin blossoms, but he found himself with a new piece of his mind knowing he does.

"The wall beside the school. I think that something behind it is much greater than I thought." Roy mumbled, his eyes unable to meet with Marth's orbs of a beautiful sky blue.

"Roy, take note that you haven't spoken English to anyone here, and we haven't spoken in English to you," sad Marth, calm surrounding him as he said this, the previous words seeming to be flung to the wind. "It's hard to grasp, but we haven't."

"Then why do I hear it as English, then?" Roy asked, gazing at Marth as if he was being tricked. Marth wasn't one go resort to trickery so easily, a feat to give to many other people.

"Take that flower from your pocket." Marth said, holding out his deft and thin fingers with an air of confidence and grace.

Roy, who was rather confused about the matter, gave it to Marth and watched him place it onto the ground, a slew of foreign words spilling from his mouth. With widening eyes, Roy observed Marth's speech, the hint of a hysterical mood in his turquoise orbs.

"What," whispered Roy, his English oddly broken as if he hadn't been speaking it his whole life. "How long have I been speaking like that?" Roy asked, an air of confusion surrounding him before he was able to grasp the concept of how a flower determined how he spoke.

Giving the flower to Roy with a glint in his eye, Marth began speaking, and as soon as it touched his hand he could hear the words clearer than he had moments before.

'Your room is upstairs. I will explain it to you in the morning. It's not a good idea, you know.'

* * *

Editing things like this by phone is really hard, haha. Anywho, for that same reason, please excuse any typos. It's not the easiest thing to edit things by phone. Oh, and reviews would greatly be appreciated, too. Even if this chapter is about the same age as the last one, I would really like to learn how to make the experience better and less rocky, namely for this one. Thank you for reading!


	3. the frost on his cheeks

Roy opened his eyes slowly, the silver flower tucked into the pocket of his sweat pants away from the sun. He had been asleep for hours, a long time that Roy hadn't yet realized. His mind, boggled with the fact that a flower had given _him_ abilities that he couldn't ever think of on his own. It was annoying, but it was also a worrying thought. He couldn't tell anyone else, he would reveal the silver flowers. With a sigh, Roy sat up and gazed at the wall in front of him in silent interrogation. He could barely contain the excitement in his mind as Marth walked in with a smile, his eyes still somewhat cloudy from illness. Roy doubted that he would get better.

"It's Saturday, don't worry," Marth said, combing through his hair with a small smile as he made his way towards the closet on the other side of Roy's room, a large pile of Roy's garments appearing in the floor beside Marth,"but you should worry about putting all your stuff in the closet." Marth said, a smile adorning his features as Roy looked at him with a frown.

"Why are all of my clothes in the floor? I don't live here, Marth." Roy said, standing from his bed and stepping towards Marth with quick, sleep laden movements.

"That never existed in the first place." Marth said, a hint of panic striking Roy's heart as if it was an arrow. Marth sighed and pointed towards the tree outside, its branches barren from the onslaught of cold weather. "Take a look yourself, Roy." Marth pointed, a frown on his mouth as he observed Roy, his gaze judgemental.

Roy, taking a small amount of interest in what was outside, quickly placed the flower in the closet, perched atop a rack that was as empty as his room. "The window, right?" He asked himself, a nod being seen from the corner of his eye. Gazing outside into the frost covered land, Roy didn't see a single trace of his home down the bend, his heart stuttering to a stop in his chest, his eyes growing wide as chills went up and down his spine. With an intoxicated twist of head, he looked towards the other side of the street in question.

"Where is it?" Roy asked to Marth, who simply opened a pack of chalk and started to mark on the closet door with a knowing gaze.

With a sharp crash, Marth opened the door and a soft waft of cookies came over him. They were Peach's cookies, he could tell that smell from anywhere. Gasping, Roy moved towards Marth and the closet door with brisk steps, his eyes burning from how wide they were. He wasn't quite opposed to the idea that he couldn't leave this place forever, but he would have to give up something that he wouldn't dare to.

Grabbing onto the flower, Roy heard Marth speak immediately the words that he never expected to hear from him, a fresh breeze of cookies ruffling through his hair before he turned to Marth, eyebrows raised in silent question.

"You cannot stay, but I'm not the person to not let you value your family. Bring Peach and Ike with you, we need to speak to you about the garden. Ah, and don't forget to keep it out of sunlight." Marth said, a small smile on his face as he nodded towards the small portal that presented itself. Roy found himself with a rather steady beating heart as he made his way back into the living room. His living room.

[ t]

iii.

"I hadn't expected you to take so long. So, how did it go?" Marth asked, the flowers on his head seeming to be in perfect place compared to how they weren't there before. A good change, Roy noted.

"Fine," Roy said, tapping his thumbs on his thigh with a frown. "Samus wasn't home, so there was that. I got my stuff with the help of Ike and we all made our way over here." Roy said. nodding to a small chest of items on the far side of the room. In front of them was a window filled with Roy's plants.

Marth clicked his tongue before he fell back, the bed underneath them both bouncing as Marth's torso met it. Glancing over at Roy, Marth allowed a few more clicks of the tongue to slip before he sat back up and met the turquoise eyes without a hint of mercy in the action.  
"They're downstairs, right? I thought about making them breakfast."

Roy nodded slowly, gulping down invisible drops of air, "Yeah. But Marth, please take note not to burn anything. Peach wouldn't let you hear the end of it." Roy joked, smiling towards Marth with a teasing grin. Marth sighed before he sat up. tossing a shirt to Roy from the pile on the other side of the room.

"I'd rather stay to help you out, I was just teasing about breakfast. I know that you wouldn't work too hard on hanging up clothes without someone telling you every five minutes." Marth said, hangers appearing in his hands from the air. "Well, don't just sit there." Marth mumbled, putting a shirt on a hanger with a frown. Roy clicked his tongue this time before he nodded and started to do the same.

"What about that portal you made in my closet," Roy mumbled, his fingers slipping for a short moment before he resumed hanging clothes,"what exactly was that all about? How did you make it?" Roy asked, sucking in a cold breath. Wincing, he rubbed his tongue over his top row of teeth in effort to stop them from aching as they did.

"That portal is simply a portal to a dimension to where we all were born. Even if I am not told much about the events, Ike does a good job in reporting what he thinks could be harmful or helpful to us." Marth explained, Roy furrowing his brows before he nodded, understanding in his eyes as he put another shirt through a hanger.  
"The wall is a different story. This group, as I'm sure someone has told you by now, is here to protect the wall, and stop a grand force of darkness from taking reign every 100 years. We all are simple reincarnations of those who protected the world 100 years ago. By the way, this also counts as a coven." Marth mumbled, Roy's thoughts becoming jumbled as more information was revealed.

"Let me straighten this out. So, not only are we a coven, but we also protect the world from darkness that happens only every 100 years? Then how does that have anything to do with the wall?" Roy asked, drowning out the other irrelevant thoughts to ask that simple of a question.

"The wall is where the light resides. It's been there much longer than the 1930's, but humans are keen to forget. I mean, why do you think such an easy thing to scale hasn't been yet? That wall is special, and if anyone finds what's inside then humans will grow with greed once more." Marth mumbled, Roy hissing as he clipped his finger while hanging his pants. Marth had already finished what could be called his share.

"Why is the light there? Why not in the heavens, or maybe something suiting of the light?" Roy asked. tossing a few pairs of shirts into an open drawer that Roy would use for night garments.

"Roy, you know what was inside the wall, right? Ike did renovate it with a few of his friends, but take note that he doesn't hang around nor talk about those friends. You see, those friends he had were angels of Palutena, the Goddess of Light," Marth tapped his chin as he paused, words left forgotten at the tip of his tongue. "Their names are Pit and Second Pit. But we just call the other Dark Pit. Most of the time they're here chatting with everyone who lives here, but now they suspect the darkness is rising, and they've gone to hold down the fort." Marth said, taking clothes from Roy's pile and placing them on hangers with a small frown.

"Okay. I think I understand." Roy mumbled, piecing together the information in his mind as he tossed more of his night shirts into the drawer.

"Are you sure? Because, this isn't something you can converse over the dinner table." Marth laughed, Roy casting a hard glare at him before he sighed and took to staring out the window.

"Yeah, I got it." Roy whispered, the rain seeming to become much harder as he thought. Frowning, Roy picked up a plant from the window, Marth huffing in disbelief behind him as he tried to place the puzzle pieces together.

"I don't think staring at a plant will help, but I'm willing to say that Peach is done cooking breakfast. Come on, we should probably eat before Ike takes all the sausage and bacon." Marth said, putting the last piece of clothing down on the bed, a small smile on his face as he motioned for Roy to follow.

Following Marth into the kitchen, Roy found Peach frowning at a few boxes of tea. Noticing their entrance, she turned and greeted them with a wave. She had a question, Roy noticed. Marth seemed to take notice of this as well, his steps slowing to a halt and his right eyebrow rising.

"Yes, Peach?" Marth asked, the flash of his belt bothering Roy for a short moment.

"You guys drink iced tea beside coffee when you have breakfast, right? I can never quite remember." Peach mumbled, an apologetic smile going to Marth before he nodded. Peach immediately preparing to make tea.

Humming, Roy took a seat at a table, Marth coming over to sit beside them. To the left was who Roy recognized as being Ryu, a college student who was rather serious about his mixed martial arts classes. He was lean and large, something that Roy looked up to in most. Yet, what took his attention the most, was how he wore a red headband wherever he went.

"Hello, Ryu. It's good to see you again," Roy said, playing with a stray string on his tee shirt. "I never thought you were in the same coven as us. That's nice, I guess. I'm glad to be working beside you." Roy said, holding out his hand for Ryu to shake.

"Same to you, Roy," he said, glancing at Roy's hand with a question in face before he gently slapped it, seeming pleased with himself. "That's how you do it, right? I mean, that's what Ike taught me. That's it, right?" Ryu asked, a curious glint in his eyes that Roy hadn't quite seen before. Roy nodded, Ryu beaming in happiness before he went back to waiting, excited about the prospect he got something that kids do right.

Marth sent Roy a mocking look before he took to, grabbing a plate from a nearby cabinet, grabbing about seven more along with it. "Roy, come and help me out with these. Most of them are for Ryu." Marth said, steadying himself and the pile of plates in his hands.

Roy stood and grabbed a good five of them, "You can't simply use magic to get them over?" Roy hissed, Marth shaking his head before he set out the plates. Roy setting the five he carried down in front of Ryu. "Really, would it be that much of a nuisance," said Roy, taking some interest to the scent of tea.

"I can't simply use my powers without true meaning. Although, even if I am not one to flaunt, that would give me the impression of a well trained mage. I am not a well trained mage, mind you," Marth said, taking a seat and leaning back, closing his eyes. "My interests and skills lie more with the sword than anything."

Roy rose an eyebrow before he nodded, never quite remembering seeing Marth with any kind of sword or any kind of training with it. Standing up, Roy strode over to a cupboard and grabbed a plate, wondering what to get all the while.

Marth sighed from the table, shaking his head, "Roy. aren't you patient enough to wait until Peach is finished with the sweet tea? I mean, her food is good, but be nice." He said, leaning back in his chair and placing his arms from the table to his lap.

Ryu laughed before he stood and beckoned Marth over, his eyes still light. "You should eat before Roy gets it all. Peach's cooking is too good to give up," he said, Roy looking offended as he had a biscuit stuffed in his mouth, his plate piled high with eggs and grits.

"You guys are something else, huh?" Marth said, standing from his comfortable seat and instead moving to get a plate from the cupboard. The plates themselves were beautiful, made from clay like most of the pots in the mansion. Yet, the beautiful paintings of blossoms and weeds of immense beauty on the rim never failed to gain Marth's attention.

"You guys go on ahead and eat, I'll go out to eat with Zelda and Luigi today. Goodbye, and don't let them trick you into washing dishes, Roy," said Peach as she left. Roy could never understand her intentions. but he took it as a good sign.

"Hurry up. If Ike gets here then none of us are going to see bacon nor sausage besides on Ike's plate." Marth said, a giggle leaving his lips just as Roy chose to groan. The sounds didn't mesh together quite well, and by Ryu's wince, he knew it didn't either.

Roy ventured outside with little to lose, the thoughts of that morning's breakfast left behind as he started on his way towards the wall. Here, there was more of a dry cold, something that Roy would find himself adjusting to. Had he slept instead of attempting to visit the wall here, he wouldn't have figured this out until much later. There was too much of a risk with the statement than anyone told.

Pausing for a moment, Roy noticed the wall up ahead, lacking that sense of wonder for an odd reason. Moving closer, Roy noticed that the flowers were beautiful roses instead of pumpkin blossoms, their complexion looking awful in the midst of October.  
Grabbing a water bottle from his pocket, Roy sprinkle most of his water on them, his interest piqued in the odd flowers. Who would grow such sensitive and short living things so late in the season. Roy pondered this more as he felt the flowers oddly leathery petals. He hand seen that before.

"What are you doing out on a Saturday, boy?" Someone asked from behind him, the whisper of unknown voices echoing somewhere behind him. There was no one else on the street as far as he could tell. What had decided to haunt him today?

"Watering these patches of roses. It's much too dry for them, you know. The rain from this morning didn't seem to reach them," Roy found himself answering, a hiss coming from behind him, supposedly from the somebody, and the voices became much louder than the soft whisper he had heard.  
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, so I guess I'll be on my way." Roy said, standing and placing his water bottle in his coat pocket.

The stranger grabbed onto his shoulder, the flower in his pocket feeling as if it was as hot as lava as it pressed against his thigh. Clicking their tongue, the stranger stilled Roy's distressed movements and allowed his leg to swelter against the heated flower.

"Stand still, boy. You wouldn't want to move too much," the stranger said, the click of a weapon echoing in his ears. This man had a gun of his own.

Hissing, Roy swung his water bottle hard at the stranger's head, a blur of a cloak in his vision before he spun around, his vision clouded from the phenomenal heat against his thigh. Moving his pants somewhat, he avoided any more serious burns, but the stranger seemed ever persistent as Roy made a break for home.

"Running won't save you at all. I watch you like a hawk," they teased. "You can run but you can never hide."

Breathing in the dry air of October, Roy tugged open the door and closed it behind him, Ike giving him a wide eyed stare before his hands started to glow. It was an ominous turquoise color that Roy hadn't seen before, but took an odd interest in.

" _Roy_ ," Ike said, his voice slow and steady as he stepped closer. "Hold as still as you can, okay?"

Grunting, Roy tried to regain his breath as the weight above his head remained and Ike came closer. The voices from before started to echo in Roy's head like once before, and he hissed at them. Ike sent him a frown before he pressed his hands to the sides of Roy's temples, a cool feeling resonating throughout his head before the voices vanished. Sighing, Roy felt the cool hands remain before they left, leaving more to be wanted from the comforted. Ike huffed before he took note of how Roy held his pants away from his thigh.

"You've met him," said Ike, his eyes glowing as he observed Roy's leg. "You've seen _it_. You've seen him." Ike hissed, pressing his hand against Roy's thigh. The healing sensation came back once again, but this time it didn't clear Roy's thoughts, yet filled his mind with confusion and anger. "Did you notice that you've been hexed? I was about to go looking for you until you barged in, crystals spinning wildly around your skull about to kill you. Don't go outside. Don't go near the wall, either." Ike said before he moved quickly past Roy and out the door. There was an air of awkwardness before Roy tugged his pants leg up and looked at the damage Ike had evidently healed.

There wasn't a trace left.

* * *

Oh, gee. This is the first one editied by computer for once, so I hope it's not too choppy. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this just the same as the others, haha.


	4. the roses in his heart

Roy took to stating at his thigh in the bathtub that night, memories of earlier cycling through his head. That man, one of such a ragged look of robes and scarves of velour, seemed to want something from him. He couldn't recall Marth informing him that his flower was wanted and burnt him, so he called it down to being overworked and a lack of sleep. He didn't think that he would survive the event, but the whisper of the dark in his head remained, Roy having to endure it until Ike returned.

"Roy, hurry up," said Marth from the door beside Roy. Had he not called for Roy to hurry, he would've looked like a prune in the water.

"I'm coming," Roy hissed, standing up and embracing the cold on his skin. "You should be more patient, Marth. It would be much nicer."

"I should say the same about you, Roy. Hurry up and put some clothes on, I hear you thumping about in there." Marth said, Roy pausing to look the room over, his changing clothes atop of the clothes bin like he had left them.

Grabbing them from the bin, he put them on, a hint of fear rushing through his chest as his flower fell from the pants to atop of the bin. His mind sounded much louder, a bumbling of hisses and gurgles that belonged only to monsters unseen. Huffing, Roy grabbed his clothes and put them on with haste, Marth coming in as soon as he was about to leave. Shoving the flower into his pocket, he warily continued his advance towards the door.

"I forgot to drain the tub," said Roy. "You can do it, Marth. I'll rest for the night and hope that Ike returns soon." He frowned, clapping Marth on the shoulder before he left the bathroom in order to move quickly to his own. Had he seen anything, he would tell Ryu immediately. His eyes were already on the lookout for something that none of them knew about, but he watched.

And the darkness watched him, too.

[ t]

iv.

"It's not even fully night and the blasted _beast_ won't show himself," Ike hissed, his arms numb from how long he had been waiting for the offensive man. "But I saw him go this way. Blast!"

Ike hated the creature who haunted the covens here. It was a creature of the Dark Arts, and Ike didn't trust him any more than he had some time before. They, among a few other members of the Dark, enchanted Ryu with another side of himself that served them, and them only. He could never forgive their deeds, and he wasn't going to allow such a thing again.  
Feeling his face contort in anger, Ike took to walking past the wall and further into the territory he shouldn't walk. This was were the darkness reigned, now. If he didn't find who he was looking for, there was always a plethora of other beings ready to pounce and have his head as a midnight snack.

"You've _come far, haven't_ you?" Asked a voice that Ike hadn't heard in quite a long time.

Banishing his flower, Ike morphed it into his sturdy weapon and glared into the depths of the hood. His face wasn't to be seen, but he knew that there was none to search for in the darkness of the hood. He was titled to the Messenger of the Dark and nothing more. Any harm done by such a high ranking mage was only hexes and few other spells. He was weak here, where the Darkness was unable to rule as the highest order of power, and Ike wasn't about to allow a shift in the scales. Frowning, Ike's eyes started glow a dull blue, his pupils growing in size.

"No. Go back to the crevice whence you came," said Ike as he looked dead into the "eyes" the creature, his heart pounding in his chest without mercy, the scent of bile wafting into his nostrils. "Just keep mind that you won't hurt an ally of mine as you had for the fun of it. You know what happened last time you had 'fun', right?"

Ike heard the being laugh, a broken, gurgling laugh, before it swopped back in front of him like it had been for quite the while," _You_ are nothing _but a game_ to me," they said, flicking Ike's sword out of the way whilst resonating an aura of a sinister being who was much more deadly than Ike gave it. "Your _friend was as fun_ as playing Monopoly, though. You should _really fix_ that," mumbled the monster, a laugh coming from the empty hood.

Ike swung at it before he could set his mind straight, a myriad of emotions swirling around and nearly blinding him before he felt his arms being twisted until near breaking. Hissing, Ike cooled down his arms and allowed the Light to take over what he couldn't do.  
With a screech, the creature let go and disappeared as fast as Ike saw it, the smell of smoking skin filling his nostrils before he glanced at his arm. All he got was a set of scratches from its fingernails and a patch of white skin where it held his arm steadfast. Ike let out a shaky sigh, his actions nearly costing him his life at the least. He would very much like to keep his afterlife rather than becoming a being of– whatever coven the Dark assigned him to.

"Ike, you okay?" A voice asked from behind him, their eyes piercing in the moonlight.

Sheik, a being of neutral ground and questionable motives, stood behind Ike, their weapons in the ready. Ike let out a confirming grunt, his legs already moving towards home. He was shaky, but Sheik said no word about it as they followed Ike until the door came into view. As soon as Ike opened the door, a quick set of words fell from Sheik's mouth before they left, Ike being baffled by the information.

"The darkness is rising, be prepared," they had said. It was a questionable statement that tested what Ike knew already. Entering with a peculiar face, Ike closed the door behind himself and glanced around for a quick moment.

"Ike, you made it back, I'm surprised," Ryu said from the living room couch, his gloves in hand along with a sewing kit. "Roy has those voices in his head again, though. I was able to stabilize him for a moment, but I'm not quite sure how long it'll last, really."

Ike felt his heart twinge as he turned his weapon back, the flower hot in his hand as his head shot to the direction of Roy's room. Ike, who nodded to Ryu as a thank you, made his way up the stairs. He wanted to rest, an eternal sleep that no one could wake him from, but he was the only one who could cure hexes, and he wasn't going to allow the same thing that happened to Ryu to happen again.  
Opening the door to Roy's room, Ike found him resting whilst tossing and turning, a sense of darkness coming from every nook and cranny. Ike sighed and prepared his magic, Roy hissing as soon as he came near. Touching his cheek, Ike felt a lightning bolt of darkness run up his arm, the Light dissipating before it returned. The Light was much weaker than he thought it would be against the hex this time. It had spread to his dreams, a night job for someone of Ike's such skill. He had much work ahead of him if he wanted to have Roy cleared of the hex, which had grown stronger, by the morning.

Roy, who was clawing at the bedsheets from the sheer force and volume of the jumbled people in his head, nearly screamed in fear as he felt a cool sensation surround his head, a sensation that he associated with the beast's volumes, the voices growing louder every time. He had already halfway clawed his ears off, he didn't want to go deaf. Instead, the beasts screamed with anguish, which was much less than the booming voices of pure, unfiltered fortissimo he had heard earlier.

"You're okay, I'm right here," said Ike, a calming voice who stood above all the others, but in a quiet sense. "Can you hear me? Are the voices still too loud?"

"Not as loud as before, but I can just barely hear you," hissed Roy, his teeth clamped shut in sheer concentration. "I would ask where you went, but now isn't the time, right?" Roy mumbled under his breath, Ike letting out a hiss in reply. The voices in his head laughed in mockery, the volume rising to previous levels. Roy growled before he pressed the soles of his hands into his eyelids, his ears and eyes burning.

"Sorry," Ike mumbled, the cool feeling getting slightly stronger before it returned to the dull sensation it was before, the images disappearing as fast as they came. "Anyway, does it feel a little better?" Ike asked Roy, his hands now glowing a beautiful mix of turquoise and violet.

"Yes," answered Roy. "It's not as loud now. Thank you." He mumbled, a light feeling of fingers against his cheek before he opened his eyes to look at Ike.

Instead of the neutral, angered look Ike had, he was rather drowsy looking, his eyes glowing yet hazy. It made a beautiful look, but Roy tried not to pay it any attention as he rested more, his chest seeming less heavy and crowded than it had been. Taking note of how long this would probably take, Roy decided to rest until it was over, a minimum of three hours rest in his mind as he felt himself slipping.

Roy hissed at the sound of hail and rain as he awoke, Ike resting in a beautiful chair at his bedside with a glint of energy still in his hands. Frowning, Roy stood and closed the curtains, his legs asleep and his head clouded. He was rather glad that the voices were gone, but he felt much better off with them being louder than the sound of hail.  
"Hey," whispered Roy, the mahogany of the chair cold under his touch. "Ike, wake up. It's probably about time for breakfast." Roy said, Ike letting out a hiss before he stood, carnations growing from Ike's skin, some even growing from his cheeks and ears, wrapping around the crown of his head in an oddly graceful fashion. Roy opened his mouth to gape before he picked one of the ones growing from Ike's arm, Ike making a twisted face before he scowled at Roy.

"I don't see why you'd want to pick flowers off of me, but please keep in mind it hurts," said Ike, his hand rubbing where Roy had picked the flower from his skin.

Roy laughed before he gathered up clothes from the closet to wear. "At least I'm not going and ripping them all off," said Roy, changing into his outside clothes with a gentle smile. "I bet that Peach would, though. She likes flowers as much as me, really."

"I am grateful for that, I guess," said Ike before he moved the chair to a corner of the room. "You still hear anything? I want to make sure you don't run the risk of relapsing. Strong hex, you know. If it was there any longer you would've ended up like Ryu." Ike said, his voice a drawl as he glanced at Roy who was putting socks and shoes on as inconspicuously as possible.

"Ryu's a nice guy. I would rather you be like him. Might take some of that anger from your face." Roy teased, his smile nearly one of the Cheshire Cat.

Ike frowned before he sighed and opened the door, beckoning for Roy to follow. "You know, it's too early for that," hissed Ike, Roy letting out a laugh, more so a gurgle, that nearly made his heart leap from his chest. Spinning around, Ike found himself staring at him with a scowl.

"Ah, but it's so _fun_ ," the Messenger's voice said, echoing through the hallways and making Ike twist around in fear and shock. Had he not done it right? Did the hex become stronger than he thought?  
" _What's with_ such a _fearful_ look," they said, Roy's eyes now pallor to how they had been before. "I mean, your friend is okay, for all I know. Just thought that I'd drop by and say hello."

"Get out. You've no business here," said Ike, his skin burning in annoyance. "You've no business in my friend, either." He hissed, his hands glowing blue and his arms showing odd markings of a different language. It was only readable by the goddess herself, a grand power that Ike didn't credit enough.

"No need to become violent," said the being. "I'll leave. Once I find out where the Light resides. Light is a fickle–"

Marth, with a sword at its neck, gazed a hole into the back of its head, eyes blazing. "The light does not reside here. Take your search elsewhere, fiend."

Ike's face only hardened as soon as the creature began to dissolve from Roy, a disgruntled redhead standing beside a being that shouldn't even be in existence. Unleashing his sword, Ike took to gazing into the hood before Ryu placed a hand on his shoulder, a calming essence about him that Ike couldn't quite place.

"I'll say this, we're not wasting our time with you any longer. You either accept our mercy or die under the hand of us. A shameful death to such a strong creature," said Ryu, Ike readying to kill it in an instant.

"I shall flee, but the dark is rising. I will be back when you least expect it, when the sun and the moon meet for only a brief second, but not when they pass," they said, the hiss of steam and burning flesh filling everyone's nostrils before the Messenger was gone, Roy left standing in a daze.

"Are you okay," blurted Ryu, his eyes focused on Roy. "I mean, of course not, but do you hear voices or have headaches?"

Roy shook his head, Marth obviously supporting him with his free arm, sword already turned back into a flower. "I'm fine," said Roy. "I don't hear any voices, but I do know that Ike looks like a garden of carnations." Roy pointed out, rubbing at his eye as he made his way towards the kitchen.

Ike looked down at his arms and saw almost nothing but green and carnations. Looking closer, Ike caught sight of monkshood on his elbows, an element of confusion on his face as he glanced towards Roy. Watching him turn the corner, Ike squinted.  
"Marth," said Ike, pursing his lips before he shook his head. "Nothing, nevermind. Would you like me to help clean this place up? The essence of the Messenger is probably going to give Roy another relapse if it's here any longer."

Marth frowned before he nodded, a broom immediately shooting into his hands from an unknown source. "May you please enchant this," asked Marth. "I guess this is another reason to learn enchantments of the Light, but I've got my own business."

Ike nodded, his hands glowing their normal turquoise before he touched the boom, a small flash occurring before he removed his hand, a broom of no different looks in Marth's hands, but all of them felt the remaining scent of the Dark and burning skin instantly vanish around them. The broom was repelling and dissolving it.  
Sighing, Ike took note of begonias growing near the monkshood, Marth frowning deeply before he looked at Ike. His face was that of a leader, not a friend.

"Ike, we should hold a meeting between all coven officials. If your arms tell true, then there is something more sinister brewing now than in years past," said Marth. "Ryu, when we're done . . . alert the others. They have a right to know about the events."

Roy sighed outside, the soft tweets of the birds who hadn't left yet echoing in his ears as he held a potted plant he had just bought from down the street. The flower shop there was nice, someone named Link worked there in his freetime, the rest of it being put towards his own coven, Roy learned. Roy didn't buy anything that would take too much work, just a fern that needed to be watered three days a week, not including today. Link had also given him a small watering can as a welcome gift to the world of the covens, his ears obviously pointing out that he didn't come from such a dimension.

"Hello, Roy. I'm glad to see you here, you know." Peach said from behind him. a parasol in her hand as she looked down at Roy.

Roy hissed to himself, Peach's perfume violating his nostrils, and turned to meet her gaze. "For what reason," asked Roy with glinting eyes and fidgeting fingers. "I mean, I have nothing special about me besides the fact that I'm the only one with red hair in the coven."

Peach laughed, twirling her parasol with a small smile. "No, I wanted to inform you on flower meanings. Ike is a fortune teller in a way. Whatever flowers grow on him tell of who you'll meet or events of the future," she explained, forcing a book from thin air and handing it to Roy with a small smile. "That book tells you all flowers and their meanings, so keep good list of it."

"I will," Roy whispered, his thumb brushing over the leather cover. "Thank–"

Roy noticed Peach was gone quite quick, his mind pondering where she could have gone. Picking up his cactus from the ground, wondering how it got there, before he started back inside. This book was something that he would need much more than he gave it credit for. But he was as omniscient as Palutena herself.

If only he knew…

* * *

Ah, this chapter is old, too. The newer ones are better, though. Well, I say a variation of that every chapter, don't I?


	5. magnolias of a kind

"You know, Ryu," mumbled Roy as he gingerly felt a corner of the leather book, his mind whirring as he tried to find the words he needed. "I think it's too soon to bring this to the meeting. I mean, I just got it today. I don't want Peach to think of me as untrustworthy."

Ryu nodded, a stack of papers and trinkets in his hands as he walked beside Roy. They were called to a meeting, a grand jury of coven members appearing to discuss major events. Ryu had already conversed with the other members, and the meeting was underway, yet Roy still wanted to ask about the book Peach had given him. He was only accompanying Ryu to the meeting room where he was supposed to drop off reports, but his mind had wandered to the book instantly.

"Wait until afterwards, then. Peach's words of wisdom are cryptic, so make sure to keep that in mind. Yet, she is as wise as someone who had been here since the beginning," mumbled Ryu, pressing the papers in his hands closer to his chest as Roy solemnly nodded. "I think she has, actually. Many of the people in here have been here since the beginning, save for the Marth that began this coven in the Melee Wars."

Roy felt his interest rising, the thought of Marth being an outlier seeming to be a lie beyond comprehension, but he looked at Ryu, pressing for more information. Ryu laughed before he paused at a set of double doors, nodding at Roy as a sign to wait as he slowly stepped inside and handed a rather plump man some papers, a red hat sitting atop his head. A small array of gratitude rang out before Ryu nodded and left, the double doors closing once again behind him. Slipping further down the hallway, Ryu beckoned for Roy to follow. Roy, now beside him, gazed at him with a small hint of interest as to what the Melee Wars were.

"You seem eager to know something," Ryu said, fiddling with a cat bandaid on his hand. "Is it about the Melee Wars, or Peach's knowledge. I may not know all the answers, but I know much."

Roy paused, closing his eyes for a moment to soak in the new information about Marth, before he opened them and cast his vision ahead. "The Melee Wars," he felt himself whisper, his face set and his jaw stiff. "I want to know more, I feel like I have to know more."

"I'll tell you all I know," Ryu said, looking to Roy with soft eyes as knowing as he could call Samus with a magic eight ball in hand.

[ t]

v.

Ike stood quietly at the end of a hallway, his mind filtering the events that had happened the last few days. He would've gone outside, but the threat of the Messenger still out there, still wandering, looking for the Light. He wasn't going to risk another hex, not this time. They didn't have that many numbers as it was, but it was better compared to the unbelievably small number the 64 Year War had. Leaning back against a wall, Ike closed his eyes and remembered the events of the Brawl Wars to the best of his ability, blurred images of the Dark and its beings filling his mind. He could barely remember some of them, his mind blank as he thought about who he could barely remember to be Wolf.

Opening his eyes once more, he was met with a faint sound of talking, a deep voice seeming to dominate the conversation. Not wanting to eavesdrop on one of the wandering coven leaders, Ike turned and walked in the direction of his room, the soft bed seeming oddly discouraging to Ike as he made a turn and stepped inside. The only thing of importance inside was probably his desk. Papers of varying degrees of age rested on the wooden surface, the scent of magic filling the room before he looked to his roommate, eyes a dull blue.

"Ah, I thought you'd never come back. I'm guessing by the plants on you that something's up," Robin said, lifting his torso from the bottom bunk with a small smile. "I'm sorry if that sounded rude, but I'd really like to know what's going on. I am a traded Scholar of the Dark."

Ike frowned before he joined Robin on the bottom bunk, the bed uncomfortably hard. "The Messenger has a plan up his sleeve. I don't know what, but I'm not eager to find out," whispered Ike, closing his eyes to ponder on things unknown to mankind. "He wants to find the Light, but he thought it was here for some reason. Did no one fill you in?"

"Marth had, just wanted to make sure what I heard was true," mumbled Robin, lifting an old book from under his pillow. "I trust Marth, maybe even admire him, but the Dark would never do something so foolish. That only leads to disaster on their side. We can easily send out someone strong to kill the Messenger, and we all know how slippy he is."

Ike felt an aggravated noise stop at the brim of his throat, his eyes furrowed and closed as he tried to consider other things. Robin perked up, being interrupted from saying anything by a knock at the door. Standing up and opening it, he beckoned for Ike to come over, the hint of a red headband showing in the doorframe. Standing and eliciting a slight groan from the change of weight, Ike made his way from the door to the bed. Had he noted that they would be coming to get him, he would've stayed in the hallway. Nodding towards Robin and touching him on the shoulder, a shock of Light running through his hand and into Robin, Ike nodded before he left and closed the door behind him.

Marth stared quietly at the papers, Zelda and Link doing the same beside him. Fighting with their intellect, their sense of reason, all because of information they found mere seconds ago. Zelda, who looked as if their original cause was lost, stood from their chair and went up to the mostly clean chalkboard to figure the complex puzzle out. Marth and Link, now left alone to fend for a piece of information that was now proven void, leaned back into their chairs with solemn faces. Link opened and closed his mouth as all of the other members stared at them with knowing glances, some even mocking, as they struggled to believe in a method of nonviolence.

"Okay," whispered Marth, standing from his seat to observe the other coven leaders at the table. "We will not fight just yet, we have no resources, but we do need to keep our guard up. Why leave and fight when they are coming to us? It appears that they have a plan up their sleeves, but we need to defend here."

Luigi sent an empathetic look over to the group before Mario stood, his eyes solemn. "Not to be rude, but you wouldn't mind me asking about why we would do this, do you?"

Marth simply nodded, his eyes lingering on the door before Ike came in, joined by Ryu and Roy, who soon closed the door once again. "Ike is our reason. Or rather, take to the flowers that have begun to grow on him. Monkshood, proving that someone or something dangerous is coming, and if we fall for leaving the base unguarded again…"

Ike saw the eyes in the room widen slightly, reliving the events of years long past. Glancing over at Marth, he found only a steely and accurate gaze, one that Ike hadn't expected to see in quite a while. Looking back into the group, Ike saw that they all struggled to recompose themselves, as if they were trying to forget the memory altogether.

"So, you're saying that we should be at the ready for a while," asked Samus, her voice nearly muffled by the heavy armor she wore. "I see. The meeting is over, then. If there's anything more you would like to ask about, contact Marth."

Ike, who was still being observed by a few others who hadn't noted the begonias and monkshood earlier, glanced over at Marth, his mouth set in a thin line. Spotting Samus, he made his way over with huffs of annoyance and eyes still on him. Reaching her, Ike glanced up, signalling for her to removed her helmet. "You going to go back to your original dimension or hope Roy doesn't notice you? Or, um," stumbled Ike, trying his best to regain the words on his tongue. Samus shook her head, playing with the blaster on her arm.

"No, I might as well fight if I'm going to be here," she said. glancing at a Zelda toiling away at a blackboard with Link observing with interest. "Roy, on the other hand, is another story. Is that all, Ike?"

Ike slowly nodded, saliva sliding down his throat as he watched her leave through the exit, her visor down once more. Glancing over, Ike decided to go outside, not feeling too needed, but the feeling of eyes on his back still remained. Frowning, Ike made his way towards the set of double doors with a slow stride, his mind barely registering that he was moving.

Moving outside, Ike found Roy and Ryu resting while standing, the hall windows showing a dark landscape, the hail returning. He must've forgotten that time was different in the room behind him, and chose to approach Roy and Ryu, neither of them snoring too loud as an odd sign of respect. Shaking them lightly, Ike observed their faces, Ryu's steely eyes opening first.

"So," mumbled Ryu, adjusting his clothing with a small smile. "Is the meeting over, we miss anything?"

Ike shook his head, thoughts scrambling themselves before he had the chance to stop thinking. "All I heard is that we're to be guard, the monkshood on me says so. It's most likely a higher being of the Dark, but I fear they may be hiding among our men," Ike said, the crowd of people inside the hall starting to pour from the one room they'd been cooped up in the entire day, perhaps longer. "I think it's one of those people in the meeting, but I'm not quite sure who. You can sense sinister aura, right?"

Ryu nodded, the iris of his eyes turning an odd purple before he started to search through the crowd. "I sense it, but they're long gone. They must've fled when they had the chance," mumbled Ryu, the purple light in his eyes fizzing out for a moment. "You have more monkshood on you, if that counts for anything."

Ike, with slight shock, glanced at the spreading monkshood, nose scrunching in distaste. "Okay," mumbled Ike, looking at the door of the now empty hall. "We might not have time for it, but we should assemble a guard. That's all I can think of at the moment, and I won't let this place be breached so easily."

Roy let out incoherent mumbles before his eyes slowly opened, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes as he started to fall forwards, Ryu steadying him. Glancing around, he noticed fairly quickly that the meeting room was empty, save for Marth and Link, and stood up straighter. Ike frowned at Roy for a moment before he beckoned for them to follow him into the hall, Marth and Link turning around in an instant.

"So," said Ike, his frown light and more concealed than he would like to say. "What's the exact plan? We can't go to battle without some vague idea of what we're doing."

Roy's eyes widened slightly, his lips mouthing unheard words to himself as he looked about the wide room. Marth, who quickly noted what Ike knew, stood and walked infront of him with a small smile. Roy and Ryu observed from a corner, listening closely.

"There isn't one. Apparently, not enough people support the idea, and most of the covens are going to face the elements of the dark head on," Marth said, the smile slowly turning into a thoughtful frown. "But we will keep a good guard here, all of the remaining members who remain are ten to twelve. Too small of a group for what we're fighting. I can only hope that the threat isn't on the inside."

Ike closed his eyes, trying his best to understand what exactly Marth said. "I'll take front guard," said Ike, slowly opening his eyes to gaze down at Marth. "I'll get lost patrolling this place, too many streets. I'm only good for fighting, anyway."

Marth, with a nod of understanding, left to his own business outside the doors, Link hesitantly following. Ike sighed and relaxed, his face seeming to regain some color. Glancing over at Roy and Ryu, he motioned for them to follow.

Roy, now in his normal attire of a tee shirt and sweatpants, slowly sat on his bed, the sound of pouring hail and thunder keeping him awake for most of the day. The weather here was odd, always either a dreary hail or a blanket of impenetrable thunderstorms. He could barely understand why it had been so dry much earlier, the scent of long forgotten books filling his nostrils as he looked over at a bookcase. Sighing, he thought about what Marth had told him sometime earlier, a blurry memory of the encounter being the only thing he could tie to the event. Glancing towards the bookshelf, he told it to move.

It stood there, the same place it had been for a day or two, and the same place it would be until Roy figured out his magic, his abilities. Frowning, his eyes now a cloudy gray, Roy willed the bookshelf to move, and it did. However, the noise of such a heavy thing moving brought a few incoherent shouts from below, the voice raspy and thin. Standing from his bed, he slowly opened the door, peeking around a corner and spotting the stairs that led to where he heard it. The area, which had gotten oddly larger since Roy had seen it last, was a wide expanse of multiple rooms and a few more bedrooms, all being shown to have their own person in it.

Slipping from his room, he embarked into the heavily lit area of downstairs, the scent of pine and flour alerting him to who was there. Catching his eye was a tuft of ginger fur, something that he hadn't quite seen yet. Looking closer, he saw the fur belonged to quite an annoyed animal. Fox, maybe?

"What're you looking at, kid," they said, staring at Roy with a frown as they channel surfed a little more. "I ain't nothing but a fox, but I ain't seen you here before. so I wouldn't blame your confusion. Fox McCloud. And you are?"

Roy shook the hand, or paw, that Fox extended, his eyes soft as he thought somewhat harder on what he was going to say. "I'm Roy, I never knew what my parent's last name was, so I just go with that," he mumbled, shaking Fox's hand with more force than needed. "I'm sorry for moving my bookshelf so loudly, I didn't mean to disturb you."

Fox shook his head, patting the seat beside him as a sign for Roy to take a seat, and a seat he took. "Nah, I just figured that you were Ike and was trying to find something, that's all," mumbled Fox, twiddling his thumbs quietly as he stopped on a racing show. "Once he gets his heart into it, it's near impossible to make him stop. He's an odd one, I'll say."

Roy made an incredulous face as he stared at Fox, the pilot instantly taking offense to his gaze. "And I'm not the weirdest creature here. There are sword wielding spheres, so no. I am not, but I will go and say that that's pretty rude."

"I'm sorry," said Roy, trying to clear up the quickly sinking situation. "I haven't really gotten around yet, and Link is the only one that I've met with somewhat different features. It's really amazing how many different people are here, but you came from a different place than everyone else, right?"

Fox let out a soft hiss of air before he turned back to Roy, his hands shoving themselves into his pockets. "Yeah, give or take one or two. Go get some sleep, I heard that this coven and one or two others will keep guard early tomorrow. Don't want a rookie like you being all sluggish."

Roy nodded, dragging his feet all the way to his bedroom. Once he was inside, however, he pondered at the things Fox had told him, his mind whirring and spinning with random and miscellaneous thoughts. His head would be clear in the morning, he decided, and with that he quickly turned the light off and fell asleep. Yet, the shadows still remain, swaying in the darkness, preparing.

Watching.


	6. the dried plants

Ike, the amounts of monkshood, begonias, and carnations being snipped off him in handfuls. gazed wistfully at a small window. Peach, one of the few who knew how to cut the flowers without hurting Ike too much, was humming along to a tune, placing the flowers on a small coffee table beside them. It was early morning, the weather from before clearing up, but Ike still felt the stirrings of butterflies in his stomach.

Today was the day that they had to go and patrol the outer limits of the town, and Ike wasn't feeling ready at all. From what he heard based on brief information told to him by Link, Roy, along with Ryu and Robin, would have to be left behind. Ike never quite got the reason out of him, but he guessed that they needed people trained in the Dark. He probably wasn't staying because he volunteered for the front lines, something that he now slightly regretted.

"Ike, you're thinking too much about the plan, aren't you? I can see it, your face turns pale," whispered Peach, snipping off another handful of plants and placing them on the table with a small frown. "At this point I expect you to start sprouting wilted leaves or something. Calm down."

Ike frowned even deeper than he had been, his mind whirring with thoughts he couldn't explain. Sighing, he relaxed slightly and continued to look at the beautifully colored sky, pink, blue, and yellow creating a mystical mix of colors. Ike felt his thoughts slip into silent admiration before he silently agreed with Peach's words. He should calm down, worrying won't do him any good, and he doesn't need to be there when everyone needs help. But, there was still this need, this want in his heart that he couldn't quell.

vi.

Roy sat up in bed, Marth looming over him in armor and another outfit that Roy hadn't seen before. Shooting up, causing a few things to move such as the closet door shooting open from his sudden will and uncontrollable thoughts, he stared at Marth in confusion.

"Did I miss anything, why do you have armor and so many belts," mumbled Roy, standing up and peeking at Marth from every angle, counting every belt and buckle. "Did we go to another time again? Because based on that sword strapped to your hip and that tiara, I'd say that we're in England. That's at least close, isn't it?"

Marth laughed, his voice rebounding from the walls and ceiling. "Oh, heavens no, I don't specialize in time travel, trust me. If I had, I wouldn't even be in this time that we're in now, but no," said Marth, regaining himself from the sudden fit of giggles that wracked his body. "I'm going out to patrol, you're staying here for a while. You don't know how to use a weapon yet. I'll have Robin teach you all about that, trust me. But until then, we're to stay out until this time tomorrow."

Roy, with the most judgemental face he could muster stared at Marth, words on the top of his tongue. "I know you're good with swords, but do you think it's a good idea to go waving that thing around against something that might be stronger than us all combined? Plus, if Robin is going to teach me how to use a weapon, is it okay if I see what I'm using?"

Marth nodded, walking over to the window and putting a curtain over it. "Get out your flower and think about what you want it to be. Think about fighting with it, fighting with your flower as if your life depended on it."

Roy, who grasped his flower and closed his eyes, thought about what Marth had said, his mind whirring and questioning in response. Suddenly, the spark of a flame in his hand, Roy opened his eyes to a magnificent sword, flames erupting in short spurts as he stared at it.

Looking up, his eyes near unreadable, Roy silently consulted Marth on the matter. Marth said nothing, but instead pointed to the sword, causing it to become a pumpkin blossom once more. Silently gasping, Roy lifted the flower from the ground and quickly shoved it into his pockets, a light steam arising from his hands as his heart pounded.

Marth, who was simply waiting for him to calm down, adjusted the straps to his armor, his tiara seeming to annoy him. "You now know how to make the sword come to light," said Marth, being as speechless as Roy was, his eyes wild and bright. "Yet you don't have the skill to control the flames nor make it return to its form of rest. I hope that you learn how in at least the time we're gone, but until then, I'll tell you what I came here for."

Roy frowned, thinking that he already heard what Marth wanted to say. "Shoot," he mumbled, moving to the unhinged closet doors and grabbing a jacket and some jeans. "I'm interested."

"I have told you most of it, but what I came here for was to give you your battle gear. It wouldn't do us good for you to be pierced with holes, so I dug up some things in a basement or two and got this for you," Marth said, producing an outfit from behind his back that was neatly folded. "You'll know when to wear it. You're a smart kid, Roy."

Roy frowned, shivering slightly from the lack of light in the room. "If you say so," mumbled Roy as he gingerly took the clothes into his hands, the cool press of metal surprising him slightly as he jumped. Looking down, he saw that a metal headband was pressed against his arm, a corner of what he guessed to be a breastplate did as well. "Thank you, Marth."

Marth nodded, opening the windows with a flick of his wrist. Roy, wanting to see if he could will the curtains closed again, stared at the window long and hard. The curtains, nearly snapping in half from the pressure, slammed closed, Marth snapping his head over to Roy with a surprised look.

"I see you've been working hard," laughed Marth, opening the curtains with a gentler push than Roy had. "But you still need to practice more. I don't want you to do that to a vase and nearly send it zooming to the moon."

Roy nodded, his cheeks flushed as he finished dressing in his attire, the jacket being slightly too loose. Marth frowned before he nodded to Roy, leaving the room in an instant, a puff of smoke remaining where Marth once was. Roy, sighing and taking note of Marth's disappearing act, placed the clothes on top of his dresser, the leather book coming to mind almost instantly.

Looking around for a moment. he found it resting in a drawer of his, his memory of putting it there quite foggy, but he took it anyway. Ryu might know about it, he was quite the scholar on history, and Roy would use that to his advantage. Moving to walk out the door. Roy only stopped when he noticed that the door wouldn't open. Sighing, he forced it open, the screech of a being of the Dark and the battle shouts of Ryu and someone he didn't quite recognize filling his ears.

{next}

Ike sighed, leaning his body against an adjacent wall in thought. They'd made it to the boarder, the town being dead quiet besides the screech of the occasional bird. But the militia, as they would call it, was fewer in number than they expected. Only five stood there, the birds above migrating somewhere that they couldn't see, and Marth seemed happy to even have that amount.

Marth, with eyes of absolute adamant thoughts, cast his gaze over to Ike and the five others. "Okay, you all have been sent to patrol the walls, right? Good," he said, closing his eyes for a moment and testing the weight of his sword. "You all understand your mission, there is no need to tell you once again, but I only want you to know one thing: no ally left behind."

A ring of nods, a few salutes added for humor, and a battle shout or two later, they all hid in their respective places all around. Ike and Link hid in an empty home, Ike using the Light to sense where it would be and Link listening by ear. All they heard was the sounds of birds and the playful nature of a stray or two.

Ike sighed and leaned back, the turquoise glow diminishing from his hands in a quick moment. Link frowned, but continued to listen. Ike didn't want to be out here, but he wanted to help. He was glad to help, but this was painful. There was no way to see who was stronger than the other, there was no Darkness to destroy. Just simple, mundane silence.

"Hey," a familiar voice whispered from outside, both Link and Ike jumping in the seats from the sudden voice. "Link, Ike. You're in there, right?"

Link looked over at Ike, slowly drawing his sword as he nodded towards the door. "Fine," mumbled Ike, standing up and slowly opening the door, Link ready to attack if he was needed. "It's just Red, no need to kill him, Link."

Looking around in confusion, many pouches filled with red and white balls adorning his waist, Red seemed to try and collect his words. "You know," he said, grabbing and wrapping a scarf around his neck as a futile attempt to stay warm from the dry, frigid air. "There were too many birds and such at my post, so I thought I would come and stay here until they situate themselves. I'm sorry about this."

Ike frowned and nodded, nudging a crate towards him with his boot. "Take a seat and be quiet. You'll be our relay line just in case we spot whatever we're looking for," said Ike, an accidental sigh slipping from his lips only seconds later. "Monkshood hasn't grown on me, either. It should be good for now."

Ike, with his hands flashing a plethora of different colors began to break down the crate he sat on, the wood becoming no more than black sludge and stinking of metal. They weren't going to move for a long time, and Red looking out the window wasn't making the situation any more clear than he would rather it be. He was impatient, wanting to get rid of the quickened beating of his chest as quick as possible, and he would rather not admit it. Rather, he would wait out his time like he was supposed to. He didn't quite want to fight whatever was coming for them just yet.

{next}

Roy glares and swishes around the deft taste of honey in his mouth, eyes glued on Ryu and Robin with the Messenger beheaded beside them all. Ryu, opting to speak first, struggled to find the words to clear up the nervous and awkward aura. Robin did the same, playing with spells that were on a miniature scale. Sights for the untrained eye.

"Okay," mumbled Ryu, moving from side to side as they all stood in Roy's bedroom. "We should get going. Take the Messenger's body with us, we'll send a letter to Marth about it."

Robin sent an incredulous look over to Ryu, his mouth agape as he simply stated. "The Messenger being dragged along won't sully his power," hissed Robin, awfully offended by such accusations. "We should seal him first. Roy needs to find his proper power, anyway. We just can't show him how to drag things from room to room."

Ryu paused before he nodded, trying his best to keep his kicked puppy expression to a minimum. Leaning towards the chest Roy had sitting against a wall, Ryu opened it and searched inside for a moment, whispering his apologies to Roy all the while. Lifting his hand, he revealed a piece of chalk, holding it out for Robin to grab while Roy just took mental notes on the entire event.

"Okay, listen closely," Robin said, drawing an intricate symbol on the floor with his eyes glowing a soft hazel. "Watch, too. Observe, notice little things Ryu and I do. Don't move, either. Ryu will probably drop you from this astral plane by accident or something."

Ryu sent a frown in Robin's direction before he carefully placed the Messenger down upon the circle, careful as to not disturb the intricately drawn lines. "One, two," whispered Ryu, a sudden wave of cool brushing over everyone's face before Roy noticed that they were all in an odd field of space, cosmos surrounding them. "Okay, do your thing."

Robin, with hands glowing in their own violet, took a deep breath before he chanted foreign words, some sounding familiar to Roy as he chanted. A great, glowing set of chains formed around the Messenger's torso and legs, a sudden skittish feeling overcoming Roy as heat filled his mind all at once.

Freezing in place, trying his best not to fall backwards, Roy gazed into the depths of what had been inside his, now useless, hood. Looking closer, he saw a violet spark form inside the hood, the words of Robin getting louder and louder until they were near deafening.

With a great, grieving crash, the entirety of the Messenger was sealed into a tome, the book astounding Roy to most levels. Ryu glanced at Robin a few times before he sighed and the large view of the cosmos disappeared, leaving a somewhat clean room to their eyes. Roy turned around for a moment before he sighed and took a seat on the floor, his head burning with random emotions and words.

"Roy," Robin said, bounding over with slow and quiet steps. "Are you okay? If not, what do you feel right now?"

Roy looked up for a short moment, his eyes feeling as if they were about to pop out from his skull. "I feel like my mind is on fire with some odd sort of anguish. No, maybe anger. Anxiety, too? I don't quite know," whispered Roy as he stood and hobbled over to a window, opening it immediately and relishing the cool air that hit his face. "Something felt cold, too. It felt like a hex, but at the same time it felt as if I was being removed of a hex. I don't even know what I'm saying at this point, really. I'm sorry."

Robin made a sound that was oddly familiar to the sound you hear when someone doesn't quite know what to do. Not quite a whine, but not quite a sound of panic. It was odd to hear something from someone so composed.

"I see," he said, his voice shaking slightly as he paused in his movements. "Ryu, you stay here. I'll go report to Marth about this entire situation. Don't go anywhere."

Ryu nodded, seeming to understand the urgency in the situation completely. With a great rush of air and panic, Robin fled from the room, a small puff of dust representing where he had been only moments before.

Frowning, Roy chose that moment to stand, his mind whirring in silent thought. Remembering his plants, Roy grabbed a cup of water that had been by the nightstand since he arrived and poured it on his few plants. Ryu made a thoughtful sound and came closer to watch, his eyes glowing in intruige.

"They haven't been watered in some time," mumbled Roy, remembering the fact that he forgot his plants had even been there. "I feel bad for it, but the past few days was a lot of work. If they were real, do you think they'd understand?"

Ryu stared for a moment, his chocolate hues flitting between the plants and Roy's confused face. "They would," said Ryu, fidgeting slightly as he felt words bubble up in his throat. "I don't quite know what to say next, but they would. Anyone who met you would understand. Your motives are always pure, and you seem to be very serious about them."

Roy could only stare dumbstruck at a thoughtful Ryu, the plastic of the cup in his hands confusing him briefly. "Yeah," he mumbled, closing his eyes for a brief moment of thought. "I understand, thanks. Y'know, you're a good friend, Ryu."

"As to you, Roy," he said, smiling lightly before the wind outside blew more leaves from the trees, neither of them having more to say.

* * *

Whoops, I forgot to update this, haha. Anyway, to battle Marth and most of the others go. You never know who will win, really. Well, at least not too much. I'll slip in a few plot twists somewhere, I and review tho.


	7. brussel sprouts and children's shouts

Marth chose to sit quietly and motionlessly with Zelda, both of them being well on guard. It was unnerving, knowing that something would come, but not being sure when. Marth, with absolute faith in Ike and Link, could only stare ahead and wait for a sort of signal or any other thing of importance.

A buzzing noise, one that made both Zelda and Marth draw their weapons with great speeds, sounded from a corner of the room. Looking towards the other, they both remembered that they had brought a phone with them to keep mind of what was going on at Marth's coven. Zelda had the same, but she had one that was smaller for travel purposes.

Lifting it up and pressing the call button, Marth placed the phone gently against his ear and listened. "Hello," whispered Marth, remembering a small fact about Alexander Graham Bell's wife while he was at it. "Oh, Robin! How's it going?"

"Okay," Zelda heard Robin sigh from over the phone, Marth nodding to her as to remember what they say. "What happened over here is either what you want to hear, or never want to hear. Take your pick."

"I'd like to hear it either way," mumbled Marth, quite accustomed to bad news. "Does it have to do with Roy?"

"Somewhat, but I'll get to that part later," Robin said, Zelda beginning to grab a book and pen from thin air, casting a thumbs up to Marth while doing so. "The Messenger came, hell bearing and all. We succeeded in killing and sealing him, and he currently resides with me."

Marth noticeably stiffened, Robin seeming to sense it over the phone. "And no, Roy hasn't been hexed or cursed, don't worry," hissed Robin from over the phone, seeming to try and put it as gently as possible. "There's something else with Roy, too. I think his emotions and enemy's emotions link when sealing. He'd most likely do as a beast metal detector. Or, that is when the beast is sealed. He only got these readings from when it was being sealed, so do with that what you will."

"Okay, Robin," mumbled Marth, Zelda's pen making frantic scratching sounds. "Thank you for telling me this. I appreciate it."

Hanging up, Marth turned around, a sigh escaping his lips, joined by a cloud of vapor. Zelda nodded at him before the book and pen disappeared back into thin air, the only remnants of them being the soft scent of ink wafting in the air.

Staying silent, Marth and Zelda continued to wait, their minds mulling over both new and old information. It was odd, they knew it was, but they knew that the time was coming. Soon, but not soon enough.

[ t]

vii.

"Okay," Ryu sighed, grabbing the Sword of Seals in attempts to have Roy not burn his hand. "You think of it as a torch, but think of it as an extension of your arm. Cheesy, yes. But it's truthful."

Roy groaned from Ryu's advice, a cool draft blowing in from the windows as the two of them waited for Robin to come back. "It's nice," he mumbled, thinking hard as he reached out to grab the sword, hesitance in his hands. "I think I understand. Maybe if I just–"

A thin layer of fire ignited as soon as Roy touched it, a huff coming from his lips as he retracted his hand. Ryu frowned before he turned it back to how it was, quickly shading the flower from the glow of sunlight streaming in from the window. Roy grabbed it with humid fingers and placed it into his pocket with uncertainty, the feeling of English fading from his mouth.

"Would you like to try again after we eat? It won't be much," said Ryu, the smile on his face appearing to be somewhat uncertain. "I think that Peach made some extras from yesterday and put it in the fridge. Come, leftovers aren't that bad. They're better than what we normally eat, really. But I shouldn't be complaining so vibrantly."

Roy slowly nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat before he followed, rather uncertainly, Ryu to the kitchen downstairs. Robin met them halfway, appearing to be confused before he sighed and followed them to the kitchen. They were all hungry, Roy wouldn't lie. They hadn't eaten for a good five hours.

"You say that Peach has leftovers down here, right? I think she might've put them out before she left earlier," Robin tried to recall, a shock of violet running through his fingers as he dragged his hands through his hair. "Either way, it's not going to be too good."

Ryu frowned over at Robin, an eyebrow rising before he leaned down and opened the door to the kitchen, looking around slowly before he invited the others in, all of them seeming ready to eat. "Food is," Ryu paused, frowning before he banged his head against a nearby wall, Roy jumping slightly from the shockwave running across the room. "The Messenger ate it. I'm sorry, but you guys can do with my cooking for now, right? I mean, we all should keep trying to train Roy. It won't do us any good if we starve ourselves before the true battle."

"Yeah," Robin sighed, moving to the table on the side of the room in a short flash. "We should eat something. Ryu, you're not as dull as I thought."

"Not quite the sharpest yet, huh? That's okay, I don't need much smarts in this coven," he said, searching in the fridge and bringing out a package of eggs, holding a good nine to the dampened sunlight flowing through the windows. "Besides, I'm not finished with my training. I have much more to learn than this. Someday, I might even regret the advice I tell you two on those rainy days."

Roy frowned, watching Ryu take out a large pan and turn on the stove, the scent of gas spreading through the air. "You've been to another coven? That seems nice," whispered Roy, imagining a coven with many other people like Ryu. "People who are similar to you just walking around, showing the world some good that it may have. Maybe someone there looked up to you as much as I do. But that's rude, to imagine something like this without asking for the truth. So, how was it?"

Ryu paused for a moment, pursing his lips while Robin tensed slightly, a glint of violet flashing through his hands for a split second. "It wasn't quite the same as this one. All of the members had to fight each other more often than I'd like to say. They treated it like a pyramid, whoever won the most was the leader. But the leader was a power hungry man. I never understood it," said Ryu, gently breaking the eggs on the side of the table and putting them inside the pan with great speed. "Besides that, I did have someone who looked up to me. I've long forgotten her name, but I don't quite think I'm worthy of being a teacher."

Roy nodded, closing his eyes to absorb the information, the soft draft of eggs wafting through the air. "I see," mumbled Roy, leaning forwards and resting his head on the table. "What's the name of that coven, then? Maybe some of them know more about the dark, and we can get answers from them instead of the, probably dead, Messenger."

"Impossible," whispered Robin, Ryu simply grabbing salt and pepper and putting it on the eggs. "That coven isn't in this dimension, it's in another. I can't trade between dimensions like Marth can, but I know that much already."

"He's from mine," Roy said, leaning back to sit up in his seat. "I remember seeing him there. He seemed to train really hard, but I only started to talk to him here."

Ryu walked over with two plates filled with eggs and jerky, a sheepish look on his face as he tried to explain the jerky. "No bacon, so I used something close to it," he said, Roy just letting out a small laugh before he grabbed a fork and started to eat, Robin frowning before he shrugged and ate from his plate as well. "Do you want any syrup?"

"No," Roy and Robin rang out, the food well enough without it. "Thank you for asking."

Ryu let out a short laugh, pouring them all a small glass of lemonade. "Do you want any lemonade? I mean, I can just put it in the fridge for later unless you don't want to save it for later."

"Oh," Roy perked up, Robin shaking his head slowly, Ryu putting his in the fridge. "I want some, please. Thank you for going through all the trouble of giving us breakfast. Bacon or not. I'm surprised you can cook, though. You don't seem like the type of person to do so."

"Wandering makes you learn things you wouldn't expect to learn," mumbled Ryu, a small bag of jerky resting in the palm of one hand as he ate his meal. "I don't think I've gotten a hold of eggs in a while, though. I'm glad you like them so much. Anyway, we should hurry and finish up training you, Roy. You just have a thin wall of fire, now. So, if we give you a good hour or two, you can finish and then train until Marth or someone commands you to head out."

Roy swallowed a thick piece of jerky, the taste of raw, unfiltered meat filling his throat with a burning feeling before he stood and grabbed the lemonade that Eyu had left him, soon returning to his seat. "So we can wait here until we're called," whispered Roy, shovelling eggs into his mouth before he took a gulp of lemonade, Robin making a questionable face towards him. "What if Marth calls early? I don't mean to jinx it, but it's just a pure question."

"Well, we hope that you at least know how to keep your hand from burning off," laughed Robin, a serious glint in his eyes as he was reduced to giggles. "But Marth is much wiser than to call you so early. Only a fool would take an untrained soldier out onto the battlefield."

Roy and Ryu nodded, their frowns deep as they ate on, the warm feeling of the air soon dissolving into one of comforting silence. With screeches of chairs and creaks of the floor, they soon cleaned up and prepared to go back to teaching Roy how to use the Sword of Seals, the sword being as hard to use as getting a typewriter to work after jamming it.

Ryu, with much patience and little time, began helping Roy once again, Robin seeming to stay quiet as he watched and observed. He seemed to say things he noticed, but Roy never really remembered he was there. He was as forgetful as a needle lost in a sea of carpet.

{next}

Little Mac, with the eyes of a well trained eagle, silently watched the sea of dust and clay move, the whole of his legs stained with most of it. He had been standing there, in the middle of the country, for quite a while. His coven, one with the same morals as his, had sent him out as a messenger. He even recalls Marth informing him that he was also a part of the group of minute men.

Had he gotten a say in the matter, he would've declined and gone on his way, but fate had it out for him. So, he was here. Waiting, as silent as could be, for a beast he wasn't quite sure of.

"You're too patient," he heard behind him, the tip of an accent showing through. "How long you out here for? Some of the townsfolk say days, but I say you're looking for someone. My wife wants you to come inside and eat, and I can't pursuade her to let a man sit and brood. Come on, boy."

Looking behind himself, Little Mac saw a man, no older than him, motioning for him to follow. Sighing, Mac found himself interested in the offer and entered, the house seeming to emit a damp feeling. But it was very homely, and he liked it.

Glancing once more towards the man, he saw a beautiful sea blue staring at him. Stiffening at the sound of a voice with the same accent, but much higher in pitch, the man let out a hearty laugh.

"Why you standin' out there lookin' tough when you can't even take a woman's call for dinner," he chuckled, the scent of snuff and oil radiating off of him. "Hello there, I'm who they call Bowser. I'm a darn good shapeshifter, and I'm proud of it. A nice thing for a turtle to have, eh?"

Mac, now squinting as to find a flaw in his disguise, nodded quietly, a small smile of acknowledgement on his face. "The militia is just about run by you at this point, huh? Well, that's a good disguise you've got on there," he said, turning his attention back to where the kitchen was, the scent of steak and gravy filling his nose. "The typical dinner here, I'm guessing. It seems nice, really. Who's your wife, anyway? Could it be someone like the Villager, or maybe you took your shot at the mannequins? I'm not one to judge if you just call whoever is in the kitchen your wife as a pet name. I can understand it, too. But I guess curiosity got the best if me."

Bowser let out a gurgling laugh and shook his head,"Not even sure myself," Bowser said, nodding his head towards him. "But I know that the woman in there is my wife. She doesn't show her face often, but she's there. Why, you think it'd be hard for a man like me to find a darlin' to spend their life with? Life got a lot to teach you, boy."

{next}

Ike stood still, a soft and gentle fog seeming to form outside, Red squinting as to see. "I can't bring out Charizard," he hissed, Ike and Link overhearing his panic. "What's going on, anyway? We went from full out warzone to this thing. It smells like fresh laundry here. I could probably stop by the cleaners for a while, too. But I'm not supposed to be here, right? I'll just send out my Pokémon during battle and stay here. So annoying."

Link frowned, his ears twitching before he rubbed at his nose and stood without the slightest hint of a sound. The dirt under his feet stirred in the motions of a ripple, an air of serenity following him as he grabbed his sword and prepared his quiver.

Red, now standing and preparing to leave, nodded to them before he took off, a sudden burst of wind blurring their vision for a short moment. Ike felt his stomach drop at the soft tremors brought from a beast they hadn't seen, his emotions seeming to swirl inside him before he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. He didn't feel ready for this.

"No worries," Link whispered, his breath smelling of honeysuckles and dew, Ike's senses dulling to the point where he could barely hear Link's words. "I will be there, and Queen Zelda will be there, and Marth will, too. If we worry now, then we cannot be of full use to our leaders, the ones we protect and who protect us in return. So, do not worry."

Ike frowned at Link's advice, the pit in his stomach growing deeper before he swallowed his emotions in a painful gulp and stood. "I'm not worried about that, but we won't have much of an edge. It's afternoon and the Dark grows stronger, well, at dark. If we don't hurry with this then we might as well surrender our souls," he mumbled, his fingers suddenly seeming to not obey his orders, his sword falling onto the floor as his hand stood outstretched to something. "I don't even know if I can put my entire faith into Marth for this, and I'm not one to be so discouraged. I feel like I'll freeze from fear and die right there, a pitiful death that most would talk about in secret. Gossiping hens bringing it up whenever they've no one else to talk about."

Link frowned and nodded, an understanding look in his eyes before he relaxed his muscles, the frown on his face lessening before he approached the exit at a wide paced stroll. "Come, we should try our best, no matter how much fear tries to strike us down," he said, glancing back at Ike who was lifting his sword from the ground with a gentleness Link could only associate with fear and karma. "The battlefield is fear itself, and as soon as it gets you, you're either going to become a survivor or break down. I know most of us never wished to be who took down the Dark every century or so, but sometimes I'm glad I am. Just be happy that you've met the people you have, no matter how rough it gets, okay?"

Ike nods, the sound of a flare going off, signalling for the battle to begin immediately. Ike and Link, both silent in understandable terror, rush from their position and make their way into the heart of the battlefield. There's a noise of a roar, and Ike feels his heart pang. Taking a deep breath, the smoke clears and their opponent stands clear before them all.

* * *

Ah, another chapter for you all. As a side note: I'm doing this by phone, so it's a lot harder to edit some things like commas where periods should be and vice versa. So, in belated advance, please excuse any mistakes for now. They'll soon be fixed when I get on a laptop or something of the sort. Thanks for understanding.


	8. the roses in their eyes

Roy felt the outfit that Marth had given him earlier, Ryu at the other side of the room mumbling and gently poking the leaves of the plants. Roy, who wasn't quite sure what he had been doing for quite a long time, could simply experimentally place the headband onto his head, testing the waters. "This is the life of wearing a headband," mumbled Roy, a current of emotion seeming to flow through the room in a short moment. "I never thought it would be that comfy, but it works like a sweatband behind this metal. Just cloth, then armor. Is that why you wear a headband, Ryu?"

Ryu, who had paused from messing with the flowers, could only gaze at Roy with curiosity and wonder. " _Kind of_ ," he says, Roy perking up at the mention of new information. "It's just mostly there for either rank, fashion, or the reason you listed. I guess I wore mine in terms of rank and fashion. It keeps stray strands of hair from getting into my eyes, too. It's kind of like a security blanket for some people, and others wear it as concentration."

"You can use it as a security blanket? Wow," whispers Roy, Robin letting out a sarcastic giggle for a short moment before he returned to a book. " _Anywho_ , it's afternoon. Will Marth be calling soon? Should I go and change?"

Robin paused for a moment, looking at Roy with a steady gaze. "Do so now. But take note that if he calls you out tomorrow, then you're going in used clothes."

Roy, with much less hesitation than the people in the room expected, stood and prepared himself to struggle with the armor resting in his arms. "I don't mind," he says, Robin seeming to be much more baffled than he thought. "I mean, dirty clothes are bad. But that's what things like cologne are for. To hide stink. Some even amplify it, really."

Robin couldn't help but give a meek smile before Roy left the room, probably strolling down the hallway to get changed as soon as he could. Ryu only set his head down on the windowsill and looked very much like a kicked puppy. They could only wait until he arrived once more, the odor of mint and lavender seeming to interest them quite a bit.

iix.

"I've got no form of experience in this event," Marth says, the beast in front of them seeming to be none too friendly. "Namely said lack of experience is caused by the fact I've never fought a giant pig before. Or am I simply blinded by all that smoke and sand?"

"You're not the only one seeing pig," Ike said, his voice daring to falter and waver towards the end. "Well, we might as well fight it. Seems like it isn't here on a shopping trip."

The beast, now with glaring eyes and flaring nostrils, could only glare at both Ike and Marth. A means of communication, being from the scowling mouth, was ignored by the beast. Only a name entered through their heads, forcing them all tto glance at each other before they saw Lucario standing beside Zelda, Link soon finding and smiling towards Lucario.  
" _Ganon_ ," it hisses, its snout releasing a large amount of steam into the mass of them, the likes of photo-chemical smog being the closest ancestor in terms of looks and scent. " _Now, get out of my way or die!_ "

The beast, to the shock of all but Lucario and Zelda, charged quickly towards them all, everyone barely dodging it. Ike could only scrunch up his face as he crouched on the ground, the scent of Ganon flowing past them. If he could rip out his sense of smell, he would. So, this is what death feels like.

"Ike," someone shouted from the other side of himself, sounding annoyed at his antics. "Get up, please! We don't have time for you to look like you ate rotten food. Maybe even looking at wasted meat."

Ike scowled, his low ground and the odor being bad enough as is. "Fine," he called back, the voice registering in his mind as being somewhat relatable to Red's tone. "I wonder how you're still standing after that whack of scent. But Ganon won't wait forever, he's starting to recoil from his attack. He seems to take his time when it comes to that."

Watching Gannon rise, Ike noted some unknown things about him. His thighs were weak as jello, and his front legs packed a punch. Maybe he could swing from his tusks and aim at an eye or two. If he found the opportunity, then he would. Until then, he would prepare for the next hit Ganon offered. Lucario, who watched Ganon with the eyes of a hawk, only stared at him as he stood, a grow being felt as they whipped around and prepared to attack once more. Narrowing his eyes, he noted that the Dark was getting stronger as the afternoon ticked on. They hadn't much time to finish him off.

With a charge, the scent of smoke dissolving into Ike's eyes and forcing him to grunt with exertion towards the incident. Preparing his weapon, he got ready to make a leap at his tusks. Link, who sensed his plan, could only hope to watch and prepare as Ike, with the precision of a well trained soldier, leaped as Ganon was coming closer and slashed at one of his tusks with a scowl.  
Ganon, who let out a distressed howl at the close proximity of Ike's sword, easily blased him off by nearly overpowering him with the violet aura known to be used by the dark. Grasping at his own mind, Ike couldn't help but let out a distressed scream from the power of his fall and the despised voices of the Dark echoing unsteadily in a confused forte.

"Ike," he heard Red call out again, the feeling of Lucario coming closer nearly terrifying him. "Hey, can you hear me? You look pretty stunned, you know."

Ike could only grunt before he sat up, his head and eyes pounding as he did so, the voices screeching as loud as a plane. Nearly letting out another scream, Ike closed his eyes and blindly felt the area around where he was sitting for his weapon. Feeling the cold press of Light on his temple, the voices screaming and leaving him to be, he could only open his eyes and nod over to Red as an odd signal that yes, he was fine.

"Go on," he says, his brown hair now uncovered, his hat in his hand as Ike slowly opened his eyes. "You're better, now get back to fighting. I have to go back and hide."

"Stay," Ike says, frowning at his own words before he nearly slaps himself. "I'll protect you if you want me to, but you're as much a part of this as we are. I won't let you simply stand aside looking like a kicked puppy."

A breath of air, one Ike hadn't expected to be an exhale, moved quickly from Red's lips. "Thank you," he says, a confident smile on his face as Ike can simply stare at him, accepting the thanks by eye and not by words.

"You're welcome," mumbles Ike, Ganon seeming to notice that Ike was slowly beginning to stand back up. "You deserve thanks as much as the next guy, though. Keep that in mind."

Marth, with a shout of both anger and confusion, slashes as Ganon just as he starts moving as if to charge at Link and Zelda, both hitting the beast from afar. Lucario, who was just where Link and Zelda were, was hitting Ganon from a midrange position, prodding at him with different amounts and powers of aura. Ganon, now fed up with his current opponents, swiftly turned towards Ike and Red, both stiffening up a little more. Swiftly, which was at a jog in Marth's eyes, Ike grabbed Ragnell and stood back in front of Red, his information on this world's physics being enough for him to do what he planned on. He decided that it wouldn't involve Ganon's tusks, as well.

Positioning Ragnell in front of himself with the sharpest edge facing towards Ganon, Ike waited for him to come closer. "Well," he mumbled, Ganon scowling the best he could at him. "If you're not scared, come at me. Show me what you've got!"

A moment of stagnation and a charge later, Ike regarded his weapon, Ragnell, with wide eyes. "He cracked it," he whispered, Marth and Red casting him an odd glance. Red, who had been sitting the entire time, stood to observe the damage done to Ike's weapon.

"How'd he–"

Red and Zelda paused at the raise of Marth's hand, their eyes both sheepish and confused. Turning his weapon, Falchion, back into his signature flower, he silently grabbed Ike's weapon and allowed it to return as well, the leaf of it cracked and a few pedals missing.  
His flower, beginning to glow and hiss, soon turned into something different than Ike expected. Frowning deeply as he tried to control the amount of energy flowing through it, he was soon greeted with a golden flower.

"It's a nasturtium," whispered Marth, an umbrella appearing in his hand and allowing him to shield it from the faint rays of sunlight. "But it didn't seem to react violently to the sunlight. I wonder if your spirit became engraved into it. Or did another flower replace the other one."

Ike frowns, the armor he wore feeling foreign and underused. Sighing, he placed the flower into his pocket and relaxed slightly, his hands warm and tingling with leftover Light. He nods to Marth, the afternoon sun shining on them in a cascade of orange. "Hurry up," he says, not meaning to rush the stunned and confused group. "If we don't hurry back then we might not be able to see Roy and his sword skills. It's worth it, I bet."

Marth nods slowly, the tufts of his hair edging his eyes as he rose his head back to where it had been moments ago. "Yes," he begins, swallowing the rising fear and confusion in his throat. "We should hurry back. The Dark will probably come and lurk once more. Hurry, now. We've got no time to dawdle. Oh, and extract the flower from Ganon, Link. Ike'll stay behind and help you with that."

Ike, now watching Marth and the others walk away, on guard at the most, simply blinks before he turns to a frowning Link. A set of triangles, one of them shining, is on his hand. Looking closer at the beast, he finds the same under his fur. Moving closer, Ike holds out a hand for Link to pause before, with the help of Palutena's magic given to him for tasks such as this, he turns Ganon into something that Ike couldn't quite sense. A flash, heat erupting like you'd expect from a trick of the Light like this, and the beast known as Ganon had a semblance to a human. Red, the first thing Ike noticed about this form. His hair was a burning red like Roy's, something of a circlet styling that he could look later, Ike moved back once more and allowed Link to continue.

Link, with the speed of a hummingbird, put his hand over Ganon's heart and allowed for his hand to glow, the triangles appearing to pulse before Link carefully removed the thorned flower surrounding Ganon's heart. "A dark crimson rose," he hears Link mumble, a frown on his face as he shades it with his hand. "I wonder what this man has been through. Ike, do you think you can get Palutena's guidance on this."

"I wonder as much as you do, Link. But I'm not the one who hears Palutena's words," he says, his words careful so he doesn't reveal anything to Ganon. "They're just not meant for me. Do you think we should bring him back? I mean, I'd rather leave him here to die, but that triangle on your hands say something important."

"I'm not quite sure," Link says, a frown on his face until he shakes his head, determination staining his eyes. "But I think we should leave him. I think he's too powerful to take back for now. We'll just patch him up and let him be on his way."

Ike sighs, looking up towards the sky, regret filling his chest and gut. "He crossed us," Ike begins, the flower Ganon owns flashing into his mind for a brief contradiction. "I think– nevermind. It doesn't make sense."

Link nods slowly, his face solemn before he stands and starts walking, the scent of blood and metal when Ike turns his head in surprise nearly knocking him from his feet in that moment of time. With reluctance, Ike follows Link. He was confused, and more than that he was troubled.

 _Something was there._


End file.
